A beautiful summer night

The strong smell of disinfectant in the hospital gave Xia Wanzhi a long-lost feeling. When she opened her eyes, she was still receiving an IV drip. Her eyelids were slightly open, and the glaring light made it impossible for her to see a blurry figure.

My vision gradually became clearer after my eyes adjusted to the light.

In the private hospital room, the man stood with his back to her, looking out the window.

He stood straight, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, and his hand-tailored suit was without a single wrinkle.

Even just a glimpse of his back is enough to spark the imagination.

Putting aside the face, just looking at that back view is undoubtedly heart-pounding.

Xia Wanzhi opened her lips, but abruptly closed her eyes the moment he turned around.

"..." Xia Wanzhi cursed herself in her heart.

Why feel guilty?

What's there to be cowardly about?

"Open your eyes if you're awake." Xie Qiyan walked straight over, pulled out a chair, sat down, spread his legs, clasped his hands between his legs, leaned back, and exuded a powerful aura that made people's hearts tremble.

Xia Wanzhi wasn't intimidated, she was just completely baffled.

It shouldn't be.

How could Yama, the King of Hell, possibly stay and keep her company?

The Xia family villa and the Xie family old house are in the same direction, and coincidentally, Xie Qiyan's car stopped right in front of her.

Perhaps it was Xie Qiyan who made her faint, which reassured her.

She didn't know why; perhaps she was betting he wouldn't abandon her to her death.

Seeing that Xia Wanzhi was still pretending to be asleep, Xie Qiyan chuckled irritably: "Is Xia Wanzhi someone who can't stand the light of day?"

Xia Wanzhi adjusted her breathing, quickly opened her eyes, tilted her head, and met Xie Qiyan's gaze.

"So it's Brother Xie. I thought I'd seen a ghost," Xia Wanzhi said, her voice hoarse.

Xie Qiyan chuckled and slowly got up to pour himself a glass of water.

He called her "Sister Xia," and she called her "Brother Xie."

This is a sarcastic nickname they often use for each other.

Others might think it's just polite talk, or that they have a deep friendship, but in reality, no one knows how vulgar their insults are.

"Not even a thank you?" Xie Qiyan withdrew his hand as he handed over the water.

Xia Wanzhi slowly sat up, careful not to touch her hand that was still receiving an IV drip. She paused, leaning against the pillow, and after a long while, managed to utter two words: "Thank you."

"Hmph." Xie Qiyan suddenly felt listless.

I'm not used to her politeness.

Taking advantage of his current easygoing nature, Xia Wanzhi took a sip of water and then pressed her advantage: "We've been through thick and thin together, Mr. Xie, could you please make an exception and let my studio stay at Xingyao without any worries?"

Xie Qiyan lifted his eyelids and asked in return, "You should be asking Zhou Yu why he's not coming over."

Xia Wanzhi's shoulders slumped, she finished the water in her glass, and refused to speak.

"Zhizhi—"

The ward door was hurriedly pushed open.

Xie Qiyan raised an eyebrow slightly: "What a coincidence."

Zhou Yu rushed over, his body reeking of alcohol mixed with a strong perfume scent. It was unclear where he had come from. He usually wore his tie meticulously, but today he had buttoned it wrong, and his tie was drooping in front of his chest, completely unlike his usual impeccable image.

"Zhizhi, how are you? Why did you suddenly faint?" Zhou Yu asked, sitting on the edge of the bed and holding Xia Wanzhi's hand, looking completely flustered.

"It's alright now." Xia Wanzhi held her breath slightly, feeling a little nauseous the moment she smelled his scent.

She has never liked the taste of tobacco and alcohol.

I don't know if I'm being too sensitive, but I always have a bad feeling about it.

Zhou Yu sat down to calm his breathing, and after a while he looked at Xie Qiyan. Whether it was fear or something else, when he looked at Xie Qiyan, the hand he was holding Xia Wanzhi tightened involuntarily.

"Thank you for taking care of Zhizhi, cousin." Zhou Yu swallowed hard and quickly looked away.

When he woke up and found several missed calls on his phone, he was shocked to find that the caller was Yu Fei. His heart pounded, especially after learning that Xia Wanzhi had been taken to the hospital and was being taken care of by Xie Qiyan. He didn't dare to delay and came over immediately.

Everyone in the industry knows what Xie Qiyan did after returning to China, and no one is afraid of him.

But Xia Wanzhi felt that Zhou Yu was being a little too afraid.

"Anyone who didn't know better would think I was her fiancé." Xie Qiyan's tone was less playful and more chilling. He stood up, gave Zhou Yu a meaningful look, and left.

Xia Wanzhi was a little confused about the situation.

Especially the look Xie Qiyan gave Zhou Yu when he left.

However, when did Xie Qiyan become such a nice guy?

Seeing her down on her luck, shouldn't he throw a big party with ten tables to cheer her up?

After much thought, Xia Wanzhi could only come to one conclusion.

Since she fainted next to someone's car, the man was probably afraid she would try to extort money from him.

"Zhizhi, are you thirsty?" Zhou Yu held Xia Wanzhi's hands in both of his, his palms sweaty, a sign of his nervousness.

Xia Wanzhi shook her head: "I'm not thirsty, I just drank."

"Are you hungry? I'll have someone send some food over, like your favorite grilled fish."

"I'm still on an IV drip, so I need to avoid certain foods." Xia Wanzhi lowered her eyes, pulled her hand away, and took a breath before saying, "Your palms are sweaty, wipe them."

Zhou Yu paused slightly, pulled out a tissue and held it in his hand, then smiled and said, "I was worried about you..."

"Your shirt is buttoned wrong." Perhaps because she was sick, Xia Wanzhi's tone was very calm. She should have been angry, but she didn't seem to have the strength.

Zhou Yu's expression froze, and he unbuttoned the buttons before fastening them back on.

The buttons, tie, and the suit jacket he had been holding were neatly put back in their places a moment later.

However, on that coat, a long black hair was clearly visible above the shoulder sleeve.

Xia Wanzhi's mother was of mixed Chinese and British descent, but in her generation, apart from amber eyes and light hair, other mixed-race characteristics were not obvious.

Her hair color is naturally light.

The shiny black hair on Zhou Yu's clothes could only mean it belonged to someone else.

"Where did you go?" Xia Wanzhi had never questioned his whereabouts before, but now, it seemed as if a voice was guiding her to explore the truth.

Zhou Yu's smile vanished, and his tone stiffened: "We're discussing business, with Xie Nan and the others."

Speaking of this, he smiled bitterly: "My mother insisted that I apologize to Xie Nan, and I couldn't refuse."

Xia Wanzhi's smile was somewhat bitter.

She didn't know whether she should believe it or not.

-

The next morning, Xie Qiyan was leaving the Xie family's old house when he ran into Xie Lin and Xie Nan, who had just returned from a hangover.

Although they are cousins, Xie Nan listens to Xie Lin very much.

The two were in cahoots.

"Was Zhou Yu with you guys last night?" Xie Qiyan usually ignored them, but today he took the initiative to ask.

After exchanging glances, the two nodded cautiously and said, "Yes, we're just having a few drinks with some brothers."

The Xie family has changed drastically. They cannot afford to offend Xie Qiyan, but they must also avoid giving him any leverage over them.